


Cigarettes and Coffee and Kisses

by teen_content_queen



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, Late Night Coffee, M/M, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, late night cigarettes, mentions of unspecific nightmares, the boys being all in love and stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23678689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teen_content_queen/pseuds/teen_content_queen
Summary: After Neil has a bad dream, he and Andrew smoke cigarettes, drink coffee, and kiss at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 4
Kudos: 155
Collections: ANDREIL





	Cigarettes and Coffee and Kisses

Neil sat up, the covers heavy as stones on his chest as he gasped for breath. Whatever the dream had been, he couldn’t remember it now. He could tell without looking though, that Andrew wasn’t in bed because his boyfriend certainly would have reacted to Neil’s sudden movement if he were in the room. Neil looked towards their bedroom door. It had been left cracked open a little, their sign that they were planning on coming back to bed eventually. When it was closed, he knew Andrew was sleeping on the couch. It gave them both comfort to know where the other was without having to go searching when the other didn’t want to be found. 

He took a deep breath and swung his legs over the side of the bed, climbing out and snatching his sweatpants from the floor, pulling them on as he padded into the living room. 

His eyes had finally adjusted to the low light of the night, the blue glow of the cable box mixing with the faint moonlight to let him make out the silhouettes of the room around him. Two fluffy lumps on the back of the couch accounted for the cats, but there was no Andrew-shaped shadow on the couch or in the kitchen. Neil’s eyes landed on the balcony, on the far side of the apartment. The lit end of a cigarette seemed to float through the air like a firefly outside. 

Andrew’s eyes drifted up to him when Neil slid the door open, poking his head out while keeping his body tucked into the warmth of the apartment. It was only March, and the cool breeze from the open door was enough to pull goosebumps up along Neil’s exposed chest. Andrew offered him the cigarette and Neil held up a hand, disappearing inside again before reappearing in a sweatshirt. It was probably Andrew’s but it was dark and besides Neil liked how the familiar mix of cigarettes and musk calmed his still frayed nerves. 

He eased himself down next to Andrew, in one of the two chairs they’d put on the balcony for just this purpose. The ashtray between them was a housewarming gift from Wymack, although Neil thought Abby probably had a hand in buying it. He breathed in the familiar smoke, which now reminded him more of Andrew than his mother, and slid further into his seat, watching faroff headlights cut across the city below.

“What are you doing up?” Andrew finally asked, flicking his finished cigarette off the balcony instead of into the ashtray. Neil watched it drop from view before answering.

“Nightmare. You?”

Neil felt Andrew shift next to him, tensing up. Some part of Andrew was unable to accept that he couldn’t always save Neil from the things inside his mind. Neil looked at him now, meeting his gaze before sliding his hand across the small distance between them. He left it open as an invitation but let Andrew finally close the last few inches and link their hands together. Andrew pulled his gaze from Neil and looked out on the city. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet. 

“Just couldn’t sleep.”

Neil gave their joined hands a small squeeze of understanding and then looked back towards the quiet world below. He hadn’t seen a clock since he’d gotten up, but judging by the traffic and the deep darkness of the sky above, he guessed it couldn’t be later than 3 o’clock. 

They’d both have to be up by 9 the next day, dressed and ready for a press conference by noon. The makeup artist was going to have more than a few choice words when she saw the bags under their eyes but Neil ignored that thought for now. It was Kevin’s job to look presentable. He was the face of the US Court. It was Neil and Andrew’s jobs to win games. 

A gust of cold wind blew across the balcony, causing a few of the burned out cigarettes to roll around the ashtray, threatening to fall out. Neil involuntarily shivered, the air cutting through his sweatshirt and hitting his bare chest beneath. Andrew looked at him and smirked. He weathered the cold better than Neil ever had. 

“Coffee?”

Neil just nodded and together they stood, hands still clasped together between them. Neil slid open the door, stepping inside and letting Andrew follow behind, waiting for him to shut the door before heading towards the kitchen. 

As always, Andrew flipped only a single switch in the kitchen, a light over the sink flickering to life. It gave them enough light to see what they were doing but not enough to break whatever trance that these late nights had. In these dark, quiet hours, Neil always felt like he and Andrew were the only men on Earth. 

Neil let Andrew drop his hand to retrieve the decaf coffee as he hopped up to sit on the island countertop across from the coffee pot. Andrew poured the dark grounds into the machine and Neil watched him gather two mugs, a matching set that Betsy had given to Andrew for his birthday the year before, along with enough hot chocolate for an entire Exy team. Neil was pretty sure Andrew had drank it all in about a month. 

Andrew settled the mugs down next to the pot, just beginning to brew, before turning to face Neil. He studied Neil’s face for a long moment before taking a step towards him. 

“Yes.” Neil said, answering the unasked question on Andrew’s face and moved his legs further apart to leave space for Andrew to stand between his knees. 

Andrew took his yes and the space, stepping up and resting his hands on the counter on either side of Neil’s thighs. Neil raised a hand to Andrew’s face, letting it hang in the air by his cheek bone.

“Yes or no?”

“Yes.” Andrew said, leaning into Neil’s hand for good measure. Neil let his fingers drift along Andrew’s cheek and across his thick eyebrows, pausing on his chin. Andrew looked up at him with an expression that Neil considered the closest Andrew would ever come to fondness.

“Yes or no?” He asked, eyes darting from Neil’s to his lips. 

“Yes.” Neil said, letting out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding probably since he’d woken up. 

Andrew moved in closer, lips pressing against Neil’s with a lazy tenderness. It was the kind of kiss that didn’t need to lead anywhere. Just a kiss for the sake of kissing Neil. Neil ran his thumbs along Andrew’s cheek bones, fingers brushing along the nape of his neck. They stayed like that until the poliet beep of the coffee maker told them it was ready. 

Neil let his hands drop to his lap as Andrew pulled himself away slowly, pushing off of the counter beneath Neil and turning to pour them each a mug. When Andrew had properly mixed in all of his additives, he came back to rest between Neil’s knees, the steam from their coffees seeming to twirl together between them. 

“Do you want to talk about the nightmare?” Andrew asked. 

Neil considered it, but the tightness in his chest had faded and whatever lingering images he might have been able to remember at first had long since been wiped away with the cigarettes and the coffee and the kisses. He thought about saying as much but opted instead for a simple shake of his head. Andrew seemed to accept that answer, giving him a nod in return. 

“What’s keeping you up?” Neil asked. 

Andrew shrugged but shook his head. Neil didn’t press that issue. Finished with his coffee, he set the empty cup on the counter beside them, out of the way. Andrew finished his too, and set his mug beside Neil’s. 

“Should we go to bed?” He asked, looking up at Neil with a blank look, not giving anything away. Neil shook his head, offering instead,

“We could have more coffee.”

“I’d have to brew another pot.”

“We could kiss in the meantime.”

Andrew smirked up at him, leaning in. He stopped, his lips ghosting Neil’s. 

“Yes Andrew.” Neil whispered.

When Andrew kissed him this time, he tasted like cigarettes, and sugar, and coffee and Neil felt whatever knot was still holding him from his nightmare dissolve inside of him. They never bothered to make the second pot of coffee. 


End file.
